Hoppin' John, Slow Cooker Style

What is Hoppin' John?  Well, it's a dish from the American South that features black-eyed peas, rice, smoked bacon, a splash or two of hot sauce and it can include greens (such as collard or turnip greens or kale).  It is a Southern tradition  to serve on New Year’s Day... and it's mandatory in my family to eat black-eyed peas, greens, rice, cornbread, and pork on January 1st!  From the very first New Year's Day that I can remember these were all on our New Year's Day menu for a year of good luck and good fortune. 

From Southern Living Magazine regarding greens and peas:  "These two Southern classics all but guarantee a prosperous year. Some say the greens represent dollar bills and the peas, coins, ensuring wealth and luck.

According to folklore, this auspicious New Year’s Day tradition dates back to the Civil War, when Union troops pillaged the land, leaving behind only black-eyed peas and greens as animal fodder. Rich in nutrients, these were the humble foods that enabled Southerners to survive. Details of stories differ, but each celebrates a communion of family and friends bound by grateful hearts and renewed hope for good things yet to come."

Makes about 12 servings

1 pound dried black-eyed peas, soaked     overnight, drained, and rinsed* 1 package frozen collard greens, thawed 2 cans diced tomatoes and green chiles 1 cup chopped onion ½ cup chopped green bell pepper ½ cup chopped celery 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 (32-ounce) cartons chicken stock 3/4 - 1 cup bacon pieces  1 cup instant brown rice, uncooked 1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning  1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste) salt to taste 2 teaspoons hot sauce*

1. In your 6 quart or larger slow cooker, combine all ingredients except rice and hot sauce.  Cover and cook on high for 6 to 8 hours or until peas are tender. 2. Add rice, cover, and cook for at least 30 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in hot sauce before serving. *If you forget to soak the peas overnight, then here's a fix: Rinse and drain them.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add the peas and boil for ten minutes.  Remove from heat and cover.  Let sit for an hour.  Drain & add to  your slow cooker! Voila! *I served hot sauce along with the hoppin' john so that everyone could add as much as they wanted or none at all.

Shrimp and Grits Tarts

Ready for another grits recipe?  My sister made this for a Christmas dinner; it's based on a recipe from Southern Living magazine.   It's easy and makes a wonderfully special appetizer!  What fun to make and then enjoy the taste explosion of tiny shrimp & grits cakes!  You will need three twelve-cup mini muffin pans or 1 24-cup pan and 1 12-cup pan.

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup milk

4 Tablespoons butter (divided)

½ teaspoon ground white pepper

1 cup uncooked grits

2/3 cups shredded Parmesan cheese

2/3 cup diced bacon or ham

3 Tablespoons flour

1 ½ cup chicken broth

3 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

¾ Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

36 medium shrimp, shelled, deveined, and cooked

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine chicken broth, milk, 2 Tablespoons butter and white pepper in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Gradually whisk in the grits; return to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer & cover, stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes until thickened.  Add the Parmesan cheese and stir until melted and blended.

Spoon 1 rounded Tablespoon of grits into 36 greased mini muffin cups.  Bake at 350F for 25 minutes.  Make an indentation in centers of warm tarts with back of small spoon.  Let cool completely.  Remove from muffin pan and place each tart on a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet.

Melt remaining 2 Tablespoons butter and saute bacon in skillet for a couple of minutes, sprinkle flour evenly over bacon, stirring frequently about 2 minutes or until lightly browned.  Gradually add broth, stirring until smooth. 

Reduce heat and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until thickened, stirring often.  Stir in the parsley and Worcestershire sauce.  Spoon evenly into tarts.  Top each tart with 1 shrimp.

Bake for 5 to 10 minutes or just until warm.  Garnish with chopped parsley.

Pecan Pie Mini Tartlets

In the opinion of this GRITS gal (Girls Raised In The South), pecan pie "takes the cake" when it comes to dessert!  This is a recipe for mini pecan pies or tarts that can be served as a finger food.  It also uses the divine Karo syrup... so if you can find the green label Karo pancake syrup, then  you can substitute 2/3 cup of that syrup for the 1/3 cup light & 1/3 cup dark syrup.

Ingredients for Crust:
1/2 cup sugar (or 1/4 cup Splenda baking blend)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

Ingredients for Filling:
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar (or 1/4 cup Splenda baking blend)
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Directions:
for crust:  In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and cream cheese.  Beat at medium speed with mixer until smooth.  Add one egg, beating until smooth.  Gradually add flour.  Beat at low speed until just combined; your dough will be quite sticky.  Cover and chill dough for about an hour.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls; press in bottom and up sides of each cup of a mini muffin pan.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

for filling:  In a medium bowl, combine corn syrup, 1/2 cup sugar, melted butter, 2 eggs, and vanilla.  Whisk to combine.  Spoon this mixture into each crust.  Top with chopped pecans.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned.
Makes about 36 tartlets

Chinese New Year Cookies

This was one of the first recipes that I learned.. thank you Mom!  We made these for Christmas every year so when I made them this year, great memories of cooking with Mom in the kitchen came flooding back to me!  Sometimes these are called haystacks but they are Chinese New Year cookies to us!  They're easy with ingredients that you probably have on hand in your pantry and they are no bake!  That's a double bonus.  Since it's New Year's Eve, I made them today to welcome in the New Year!

Here's our recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup peanuts
1 can Chow Mein noodles

Directions:
Melt the butterscotch chips and peanut butter in a double boiler over medium  heat.  Stir until smooth and stir in peanuts and chow mein noodles.

Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper.  Cool until set... and enjoy!

Variation:  you can make these with a combination of chocolate & butterscotch chips or just chocolate chips.

Almond Curried Fruit

Baked almond curried fruit is a great side dish for ham or pork... but we love it with almost anything!  It makes a beautiful presentation and is so yummy.  It's been a family favorite for many years.

Almond Curried Fruit

1 29-oz can sliced peaches

1 15 ½-oz can pineapple chunks

1 16-oz can pear halves

1 6-oz jar maraschino cherries

½ cup slivered almonds

1/3 cup butter, melted

¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tablespoon curry powder

Drain all fruits and arrange in a 9x13x2-inch  baking dish. Sprinkle fruit with almonds. Combine butter, brown sugar, and curry powder.  Top fruit with brown sugar mixture.  Bake at 325 for 1 hour. Serves 8.

Upside Down Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Chicken pot pie is one of my all time favorite comfort foods... as is home made soup.  So what could be better than to combine the two into one yummilicious bowl!   If  you have left over soup & biscuits, toast the biscuit halves before placing them in the bowls of soup... delicious with just the right amount of crunch!

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 cups chicken broth

1 can cream of celery soup

1 bag frozen green peas

1 bag frozen corn kernels

1 bag frozen O’Brien hash brown potatoes

1+ Tablespoon Herbes de Provence

Fresh ground pepper to taste

½ cup half & half

Put all except half & half in slow cooker and cook on low for about 8 hours.  Thirty minutes before serving, remove the chicken breasts, dice or shred them and add back into the slow cooker.  Then stir half & half into the soup.

Make your favorite biscuits!  I used Pillsbury Southern Style frozen biscuits.  Slice each biscuit in half and place one half in the bottom of each individual soup serving bowl and ladle the soup over the biscuit!  Top with the other biscuit half.  Oh so yummy and comforting and warm!!!

Baked Creamed Spinach

When you want to serve a healthy green side dish, you can't go wrong with spinach!  As creamed spinach is one of my favorites, I started with a recipe by Sunny Anderson of Food Network.  I made a few changes to make it more to family taste and used ingredients that I had on hand.  The result was delicious!

Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
1/2 red onion, chopped (I used sweet Vidalia)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons red chili flakes (I used about 1/2 teaspoon to reduce spiciness)
1 3/4 cups heavy cream (I used one cup half & half and 3/4 cup low fat milk)
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)
2 (10-oz) packages frozen chopped spinach. thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup packaged fried onions (recommended French's)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Butter an 8 by 8-inch baking dish.  Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high  heat.  Add the onion & a pinch of salt.  Saute for 3 minutes, then add the garlic and red chili flakes and saute for 2 more minutes.  Add the cream, Parmesan, and nutgmeg.  Heat until the cream is just beginning to bubble, stirring often.  Turn the burner off and stir in sour cream and spinach.  Adjust the seasoning with salt & pepper to taste.  Pour into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the top evenly with fried onions.  Bake until golden and bubbly, about 20 minutes.